When the needle catches the light, I bite down on a sob so hard my teeth ache. Jude sits beside him with a tourniquet around his arm. He takes the needle from Micah, and I watch in horror as he sinks it into his skin. Immediately, his head tips back, exposing the vulnerable column of his throat. His eyes flutter half-shut, dazed, distant—like he’s floating somewhere far from the man I know.
Micah’s hands move in tiny, deliberate motions. Drawing in. Tapping out bubbles. Rotating his wrist in that awful,professional flick. The lighter snaps off, plunging them back into a dim phone-glow.
Jude’s breath leaves him in a long, shuddering exhale, his head falling back again, chair creaking under the weight of him letting go. He doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t reach for Micah. He doesn’t stop him when he injects, too.
The patio is so quiet I can hear the dull thud of Micah setting the case back down, and the faint inhale he makes as he sinks deeper into himself. I watch them until the night grows still again, until they sit there in hollow quiet—two broken men wrapped in shadows, leaning on the only comfort they know.
My heart hammers frantically, likely bruising my ribs.
When they start to stand, I slip away from the door and hurry back to bed. I crawl under the covers, wiping my cheeks with the backs of my hands.
I turn onto my side just as the door clicks softly. Footsteps.
The mattress dips behind me. Jude’s familiar weight returns, his breath warm against my neck as he settles in carefully, like he doesn’t want to wake me. I keep my eyes closed. Pretend I didn’t see anything. And that I’m not silently breaking beside him.
Chapter twenty-three
JUDE GRAVES
Emma’s alarm explodes to life on the nightstand, way too loud for the hour. She groans, rolls into me, and for a second, I consider grabbing the damn thing and throwing it out the window.
But she stretches, blinking up at me with a soft, sleepy smile. “Morning,” she murmurs.
“Morning,” I say, brushing my thumb along the faint red marks on her throat—the ones I left there. They look good on her. Better than good.
We drag ourselves out of bed, limbs still heavy, bodies still tender from last night. My muscles ache in the best way. She tiesher hair up as we walk out into the hallway, and I can’t take my eyes off her. Though I notice something flicker in her eyes that has me curious.
Micah and Heather are already in the kitchen, each with a mug in hand. When we step in, Heather’s eyes widen just a little before her lips pull into a devious grin.
Emma squeaks out a “Morning,” and immediately goes to hug her. The two of them giggle, and I just raise a brow.
Yeah. They’re absolutely talking about us later.
Micah catches my eye. We exchange the kind of smile that says everything without words:Yeah, man. Same.
Heather pulls back from Emma, trying and failing to wipethe grin off her face.
Micah lifts his mug like a toast. “Morning, sinners,” he says.
Emma gasps and whacks his arm. “Jeeze, Micah.”
He just laughs. “I’m just saying. The house was...loud.”
Emma turns bright red.
I sip the coffee Heather hands me like an innocent man. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I deadpan.
Micah snorts. “Uh-huh.”
Heather nudges Emma. “We’re proud of you. But Jude, you must have a huge dick. You had her screaming.”
Emma hides her face in her mug. I’m grinning like an idiot. We stand around the counter, drinking coffee and trading soft, teasing jabs. It’s easy and so comfortable. The kind of morning I forgot I could even have. I’ve spent so much of my time with the bitch and bastard hanging around, even with Finnick and Kami.
After a few minutes, Emma sets her mug down and turns toward me. Her arms slide around my waist, her cheek pressing lightly against my chest. I wrap an arm around her, holding her close.
Her voice is quieter when she says, “Jude...I don’t know what we are right now, but just know that I’m yours.”
Something tight in my chest loosens. I tilt her chin up with my fingers and kiss her slowly, leaving no doubt. “My heart is yours,” I murmur against her lips. “It was always meant to be yours.”
